MMC achieved the highest 15 points from seven matches of the super league with four wins and three draws. MMC also scored the highest 11 goals during the super league and conceded the least four goals. [break]The result confirmed second position and a handsome purse of Rs 3.5 million for MMC. In the first round MMC had finished fifth with seven wins, five draws and three defeats.
MMC leapfrogged four spots to finish second with 41 points, two points behind champion Three Star which is yet to play its last league match. At the end of the first round, MMC was nine points behind leader Three Star which had opened a seven-point lead at the top.
"I have fulfilled the responsibility assigned to me by the club," said MMC coach Chhiring Lopsang, who had joined MMC following the resignation of coach Krishna Thapa after the completion of the first round.
"The club had targeted second position finish and I am happy that we have achieved the target," said Lopsang, who seemed ecstatic for being the only team to remain unbeaten in the super league.
In Sunday´s match Shiva Shrestha and skipper Anil Gurung scored in either half for MMC that was reduced to 10 men in the 38th minute following a straight red card to its defender Mbile Leonel Stephen.
Midfielder Shrestha had put MMC ahead in the 34th minute when he headed home from the six-yard box in a freekick taken by Sabindra Shrestha. Four minutes later, MMC´s African defender Stephen was sent off by referee Sachin Amatya. Stephen, the last man, was punished for a ´deliberate foul´ on Akeen O Babatunde just outside the danger zone.
Skipper Gurung converted the spotkick awarded to MMC in the 65th minute to double the advantage. MMC was awarded the spotkick after Sujal Shrestha was brought down in the danger zone by Subash Gurung A.
Meanwhile, NRT´s coach Diken Suwal said inconsistent performance proved to be the major setback for his team in their league campaign. "We performed well during the initial and final stages of the first round as well as the super league. But we lost our rhythm in the middle stages," Suwal said.
Meanwhile, Nepal Army Club will vie with champion Three Star Club in the last league match to be held on Monday. Army, which lies in the fourth position, must beat Three Star to finish third and earn a cash prize of Rs 1.5 million, double the amount for the fourth-place finisher.
Monday´s match
Three Star Vs Army @ 15:00 NST
Venue: Dasharath Stadium
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